


Marked

by atamascolily



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Study, Female Friendship, Gen, Hot Springs & Onsen, Inspired by Art, Irezumi, Magical Tattoos, Post-Series Pre-Movie, non-sexual nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 11:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30004134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atamascolily/pseuds/atamascolily
Summary: Junko Kaname invites Homura on a family trip to a local hot springs resort. Intrigued by Homura's refusal, Junko investigates--revealing a secret of her own along the way.
Kudos: 10





	Marked

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this [amazing art of Homura by hiwonoafu](https://hiwonoafu.tumblr.com/post/189161576024) on Tumblr.
> 
> I know it's not canon compliant with the movie, but the idea of Junko taking Homura under her wing and being a role model/mentor for her gives me life.

"Homura-chan," Junko Kaname said, turning her formidable gaze in Homura's direction as her husband cleared away the dishes from the dining room table. "Tomohisa and I were thinking about taking a day trip to a hot springs next weekend and wondered if you'd like to come along."

Homura froze. She'd slowly gotten used to spending time with the Kaname family in Madoka's absence--coming to dinner at their expansive house every weekend, babysitting Tatsuya on a regular basis, and being on first name terms with the adults--but this was different. She had no idea what to say.

It wasn't that she didn't _want_ to go. It was that she _couldn't_ go, and didn't know how to explain it to the Kanames without ruining everything.

"I'm sorry," Homura managed at last, aware that her hesitation would make her refusal even ruder. "I appreciate the invitation, but I must respectfully decline."

Junko frowned, not used to 'no' for an answer. "Would you feel more comfortable if your friends came along, too? Tomoe-san and--Sakura-san, right? There's room enough in the car for all of you--"

Homura shook her head. Though it was kindly meant, the presence of witnesses would only make the situation worse. "N-no," she stammered. "I'm sorry, that won't work. I wish I could but I--can't."

Junko stared as if Homura were a book written in an esoteric language she wasn't sure how to read. "Dear, would you mind putting Tatsuya to bed while I talk with Homura-chan?" she said at last.

"Of course!" Tomohisa said. Four-year-old Tatsuya had other ideas, of course, wanting to stay with his adored "'Mura," but his father was to corral him out ofthe room after a few minutes of chaos, leaving Homura alone with Junko.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Junko said at last, still studying her guest closely. "Forgive me if I'm making unwarranted assumptions, but it occurs to me this is something you might prefer to discuss in private."

That... was true, but not for any reason that Junko had in mind. Homura wracked her brains for an explanation the other woman would accept. Junko was extremely good at detecting lies, so an outright falsehood wouldn't do.

"I would like to go to the hot springs," she said at last. "But I do not think they would allow someone like me on the premises. I wouldn't want to come all that way only to inconvenience you, Kaname-san, especially after you and your family have been so kind to me."

Junko glared. "What did I say about making me feel like an old lady again?"

"R-right--Ka--Junko-san," Homura corrected hastily. "Please don't judge me," she added after a moment.

"Huh, " Junko said, mollified by something Homura had said, even if she wasn't sure what. "I thought as much. Perhaps this will ease your mind, then."

She rolled up her sleeve of her blouse to exposing a hint of--color?--on the side of her upper arm, almost lost in the shadows. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she said and winked.

Homura's jaw dropped as she stared at Junko in genuine shock before she managed to close her mouth. She never would have suspected _Junko Kaname_ , of all people, to have _tattoos_ \--

"You're not the only with hidden secrets," the senior Kaname said with a sly smile as she tugged her sleeve back down. "Someday, I'll buy you a drink and share the story over a glass of sake or three. But not today. You're not old enough to drink yet."

She set her own glass on the table and reached out to take Homura's hands in hers. "You don't have to worry about being turned away--the proprietor of the hot springs owes me a favor and won't refuse either of us. Under the circumstances, I think our own private tub would be best, don't you think?"

"R-right," Homura stammered, unable to believe her ears.

"So you'll come with us then?" Junko pressed. "It would mean a lot to us to do something nice for you after all that you've been through."

Junko didn't even know the half of it. Homura bowed her head in grateful acquiescence, fighting back sudden tears at her friend's kindness. "...Yes."

***

Sealing the Incubators away once and for all had required tremendous sacrifices on Homura's part, beyond the price she'd paid in becoming a magical girl. In this case, the cost was confining the Incubators within her body, in a two-dimensional prison painstakingly etched into her own skin.

No one else knew what she had done. Mami and Kyouko had noticed Kyubey's disappearance, but hadn't made the connection. They likely never would unless Homura slipped and they glimpsed what evidence remained. Sayaka was dead in this timeline, and Madoka--

Madoka was gone, removed from the world by a sacrifice of her own. Unlike Kyubey, who perpetually hovered around her, Madoka had become a goddess, anywhere and everywhere at once and therefore nowhere. Ironic, that.

Homura couldn't shake the sneaking suspicion that Junko and Tomohisa were only nice to her because they missed Madoka, too, even if they couldn't remember her existence. Subconsciously, they knew something wasn't right and had latched onto her as a pale substitute for the gaping hole Madoka's absence had torn in their lives.

But even if that was true, was it wrong for Homura to want a family of her own? To adopt the Kanames, who were yearning for a daughter even if they had no idea why? Homura hoped not, but if it was, she hoped Madoka would understand. Surely Madoka would forgive her for being happy in the world their wishes had made.

Even with Junko's reassurances, Homura spent the next week worrying about all the ways the impending hot springs trip could go wrong. But between her burning curiosity about Junko's own tattoos, and her yearning for a kind of rest and relaxation she'd assumed was lost to her when she took on the burden of the Incubators, she was willing to give it a chance.

To Homura's relief, their arrival at hot springs was utterly without incident. Tomohisa and Tatsuya departed for the men's side with cheerful waves as Homura and Junko were escorted to their own private section.

"How is this--?" Homura said, gesturing around as they stepped into the enclosure waiting for them. She didn't know much about hot springs aside from a few snippets on TV shows of questionable veracity, but she was reasonably sure this wasn't standard protocol by any means.

Junko grinned, firmly closing the door behind them. "Let's just say we're not the only patrons who prefer to remain... discreet."

Which, Homura knew from experience, meant the yakuza. Which was honestly not surprising in and of itself, given the existence of Junko's tattoos, but the wider implications made Homura's brain hurt. Yes, Junko was steely and resolved and aggressive and looked fantastic in her pantsuits and artfully applied red lipstick, but--connected to the yakuza? That was a bit of a stretch even for Homura's vivid imagination.

 _I robbed so many yakuza hideouts and I never saw her--but I guess she's been retired at least since Madoka was born, if not earlier,_ she reasoned to herself. The thought of Madoka sent a pang, through her and she sighed. _I bet Madoka had no idea her mom had a secret like this. I certainly didn't._

"Tell you what," Junko said. "I'll let you shower first and I won't peek until you're ready to show me, okay?"

That was kind of her, seeing how Junko couldn't enjoy her soak until after her shower. Homura stammered her thanks and stripped as fast as she could, careful to keep her long hair and Madoka's red ribbon out of the shower stream while she scrubbed down her skin. Her task complete, she slipped on a purple yukata and dangled her feet in the water while waiting for Junko to join her.

"Well?" Junko said from behind her when she'd finished her own shower. ""What do you think?"

Homura turned. Junko hadn't bothered to don her yukata and was striding naked towards her without a hint of shyness. A vivid crimson dragon swirled across each of her shoulders, backdropped by roiling blue clouds, in the classic 'Floating World' style. Her back was a single massive lotus blossom upon which a thousand-armed Kannon posed with regal grandeur.

"It's _beautiful_ ," Homura said. "How long did it take?"

Junko waved a hand as she slipped down into the tub beside a conveniently placed tray of sake cups. "Long enough. You're not going in?"

Homura hesitated. But Junko smiled up at her encouragingly, and that, combined with Junko's trust in revealing her own secrets, gave Homura the courage to slide the yukata down over her shoulders and turn her back to Junko, exposing herself at last.

Homura had only ever seen the reflection in the mirror, but from Junko's gasp, she knew exactly what the other woman was thinking. Kyubey sprawled across Homura's back from the nape of her neck to the base of her buttocks, his fluffy white fur on edge and his red eyes glowing with demonic fury. She had never known the Incubator to smile, but his mouth gaped to reveal pointed teeth poised and ready to bite. Behind him loomed and bright blue waves, along with one of the sigils that kept him bound within her skin.

As part of their contract, the Incubators ripped a magical girl's soul from her body, transforming it in a crystalline soul gem. A similar magic could be used to trap the Incubators--one soul divided across many bodies--into an equally efficient trap.

"Oh, Homura-chan, it's so beautiful! Whoever did your work was a master," Junko said. "It's a baku, right? No, a lion-dog." She leaned closer to take another look. "Or maybe a kitsune?"

"It certainly is a trickster," Homura said. "A fox spirit is probably the closest equivalent."

"It's all so vivid and _lifelike_! He looks like he's about to leap out at any minute and attack me!"

"I hope not," Homura said gravely. It was her deepest fear, the one that kept her up at night. The Incubators were clever and ruthless--a dangerous combination at the best of times--but with any luck, they had underestimated human ingenuity for the last time.

"And, oh, what's this?" Junko said, pointing up to Homura's shoulder. "A wish-fulfilling jewel? _Two_ of them?"

That would be the purple soul gem by her neck and the Grief Seed set into her upper right arm, Homura thought. Embedding those two in the physical shell of her body had been a calculated risk, but it was the only way she had been able to generate enough power for the binding. She could still access her Soul Gem's powers this form, as long as she was careful to keep those sections from injury--any cuts or scrapes would not only damage the gem, it would weaken the bindings trapping the Incubators in place. Homura thought it was a reasonable price in exchange for never having to deal with the Incubators again.

She was almost angry at Madoka for not taking the Incubators into account when making her wish. It was bad enough that she'd sacrificed herself to save all witches throughout space and time--but to leave the main source of the problem alone made Homura grind her teeth in frustration. But then, that was Madoka for you. Since Madoka's wish had failed to account for them, Homura was left--once again--to pick up the slack. Humanity wasn't safe-- _Madoka_ wasn't safe--until the Incubators were gone. 

"And that girl on your arm--" Junko was back in Homura's peripheral vision again, squinting at the pink-haired figure in a flowering kimono that had been her own daughter in another timeline.

Not that Junko would recognize her now, of course.

It wasn't the real Madoka on her arm, of course. Homura knew of no way to bind the Law of Cycles the way she had with the more corporeal Incubators. This Madoka was only an image, a pale shadow of the goddess's true being, a poor substitute for her prescence.

Someday, perhaps, she and Madoka would be together again. But not today.

"It's beautiful, Homura-chan," Junko said, noticing Homura's shudder, but misinterpreting the reason behind it. "Please don't ever be ashamed of who you are. It's absolutely beautiful, all of it."

Homura had sacrificed so much for Madoka's sake--why balk at one more thing, let alone one so easy to hide from the cruel and undiscerning world? She'd been certain no one would understand why she'd chosen to be marked this way, but Junko's admiration called all her assumptions into question. Tattoos were disreputable, yes, but why not take pride in them, the same way she wore Madoka's red ribbons in her hair and bore her magic bow into battle?

"I'm not ashamed," Homura managed when she was capable of speech again. She sank down into the welcoming warmth of the hot springs and let it cover her up, leaning back against the rim of the pool while her hair swirled around her. "It's just... I sacrificed a great deal for it. _Because_ of it."

"That's life, kiddo," Junko said, though not unkindly. She sat back in the water with a sigh and picked up a cup of sake off the tray along the edge of the tub. "Ya gotta sacrifice to get what you want. There's no way around it. But was it worth the cost?"

Homura didn't hesitate. "Yes. Yes, it was."

"Then you got what you needed, didn't you?"

Steam rose over the water. A tension unlocked in her muscles in a way that had nothing to do with the heat. "Thank you," Homura whispered after a long silence.

"Of course," Junko said, and took another drink. She wasn't tipsy yet, but she would be if she kept downing her sake like that. "You remind me of myself when I was your age," she went on. "So fierce and determined--"

"I would be honored to become an accomplished woman like you," Homura said, and meant it wholeheartedly.

Junko grinned and raised her empty cup in salute. "If those marks on your back are anything to go by, I'd say you're well on your way."

**Author's Note:**

> Full confession: sometimes, I just want to write a fic for the Aesthetic without figuring out all the worldbuilding involved. I have no idea how the mechanics of world without Incubators would look like, or what tattoo binding magic _actually_ looks like, so let's just agree to handwave it, okay? Suffice to say Homura pulled some magic shit and it was awesome.
> 
> More about irezumi (Japanese full body tattoos) and their history and reputation in modern Japanese society [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irezumi). Unlike the West, tattoos have extremely negative connotations. Many businesses in Japan, including hot springs, ban customers with tattoos; hence, Homura's initial hesitation to Junko's offer. 
> 
> I low-key headcanon that Junko had a wild life as a delinquent in her youth (maybe even getting involved with the yakuza) before settling down and becoming "respectable". Because tattoos are strongly discouraged in the business world, this is something she'd have to hide from her employers in order to be advanced and promoted at work.
> 
> Kannon is the Japanese version of the bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion in Buddhist iconography, often depicted with thousands of arms. It's fitting that Junko has her on a tattoo given the similarities between Kannon and Madoka's goddess form. She is often shown holding a Cintāmani, or wish-fulfilling jewel, which is what Junko assumes Homura's Grief Seed and Soul Gem tattoos represent. (Well, she's not _wrong_...) 
> 
> The ['Floating World'](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo) is a popular subject for irezumi, as are the various mythological creatures Junko mentions. [Baku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku_\(spirit\)) are like tapirs; [kitsune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune) are foxes and [lion-dogs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_guardian_lions) are self-explanatory. 
> 
> The red spider lilies in Homura's tattoo are _Lycoris radiata_ and associated with death and resurrection and are one of Homulily's motifs in the movie.


End file.
